In the last 20 years, has there ever been an occasion where someone has demanded respect and then actually gotten it?  I mean, anyone but Cartman.  Respect is earned, not received freely.  I lose respect for anyone who asks for it.  I lose all respect for anyone who demands it.  Anyone who demands respect is not confident enough in their own abilities to rely solely on those abilities.  They lose sight of what they are trying to accomplish.  They sabotage their own goals by attempting to force people into feeling something which just isn’t there…or worse, they ruin all of the “respect-capital” that they’ve already accumulated.

Nowadays, there are very few circumstances where respect is immediately given, no questions asked.  The military comes to mind.  But in the rest of real life, it is no longer a given.  Things have changed.  It’s not how it was 20 or 30 years ago.  But one thing hasn’t changed: actions speak louder than words.  Act like a leader, act like an authority figure.  Don’t talk about it.  People have too many options nowadays to succumb to your sad attempts at garnering false respect.